In recent times, the issue of overpayments has gone from being a kind of lucky break for receiving extra money to a financial misfortune. When it comes to Social Security, many beneficiaries are not even aware that they received more money than they should until they receive refund notices. This problem of erroneous payments is being replicated in SNAP couponsin which 5 states are the ones that make the most overpayments in the United States.
New data released by the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) revealed Fiscal Year 2023 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Payment Error RatesAs the report highlights, there are states in the country that require urgent action to improve this situation.
“Payment error rates are not synonymous with fraudbut rather reflect the accuracy with which states determine eligibility and benefit amounts,” FNS clarifies. “Payment errors are largely due to inadvertent errors, either by the state agency or the household, that affect the accurate determination of eligibility or benefit amounts.”
For fiscal year 2023, which runs from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023, FNS found that SNAP overpayment error rate was 10.03%with an underpayment error rate of 1.64%, in line with the previous year.
However, there are states that far exceed the national overpayment error rate. Alaska tops this problematic list of overpayments, with 59.59%. It is almost 50% more than the national average.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) fined Alaska $12 million due to the extremely high error rate. The Alaska Beacon news outlet claims this is because the state government extended benefits to residents while working through a backlog of food stamp applications.
Considerably far from the northern state, although still well above the national rate, New Jersey has a SNAP overpayment error rate of 33.48%ranking as the second locality with the greatest problems in this regard.
“All states that performed poorly this year should submit a corrective action plan “that addresses the root causes of errors to improve payment accuracy. In addition, states with high error rates for two consecutive years will receive a financial penalty,” the FNS said in its report.
The next three states with the highest overpayment error rates are:
- South Carolina: 20.94%
- Hawaii: 19.97%
- Delaware: 19.23%
On the other side of the scale, Vermont has the lowest overpayment rate in the United States at 2.82%. Closely followed by South Dakota, with 2.87%, and Idaho, with 2.96%. All three are well below the national average.
Due to the position that the FNS has taken, in which it is not seen as fraud, but as a bureaucratic error at the level of the state issuing the SNAP coupons, So far, there has been no indication that beneficiaries who have received these overpayments will have to return them.just as has happened with Social Security, as mentioned at the beginning.
At La Opinión, we will be following this coverage closely so that you, as a beneficiary of SNAP coupons, are financially prepared and are not taken by surprise by the decisions that the government at all levels makes in the future regarding this loss of resources.
TYou may also be interested in:
- SNAP Coupons: Here is the payment schedule for the month of July 2024
- How retirees can maximize their SNAP benefits
- $973 in SNAP coupons for people who meet these requirements